After The Wedding That Wasn't
by Meegs82
Summary: What happened after Angela and Hodgins took off together? Read this and you'll find out! B&B Fluff, some Angst, and maybe a happy ending.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

"What do we do now?" Brennan inquired, half smiling at Booth.

The two of them stood frozen in their spots at the altar and looked to the minister, who smiled broadly at both of them. They slowly looked back to the church full of people, trying to figure out what exactly to do next. Zach and Cam stood close by on either side of them, glancing around nervously.

Angela's father was the one who finally stood to address the crowd. "Well, you all heard what my daughter said. Go and enjoy the reception. There is plenty of food and cake for everyone. Unless, of course, the two of you are planning on tying the knot," Angela's father said as he turned to Brennan and Booth.

"Knot? What knot?" Brennan asked, genuinely confused.

"It's an expression, Bones, it means 'to get married,'" Booth explained to her.

"Oh. Well, we couldn't possibly get married. We would have had to apply for a marriage license in advance," Brennan replied, logically.

Booth stared at her, his eyebrows raised and a look of astonishment on his face. The minister, Angela's father, Zach, and Cam (as well as the rest of the congregation) could not take their eyes off of the two standing at the altar.

"What?" Brennan asked when she noticed the look on Booth's face.

Booth's eyes grew wide as he opened his mouth to speak. "Do you want to get married?" he asked, pretending to be joking.

Brennan's face contorted. "What? No. I was just simply stating the fact that it wouldn't be possible right now," Brennan replied as her eyes widened at the last two words she had just spoken "…or…ever," Brennan replied rather unintelligently as a wave of crimson fell across her face. It suddenly dawned on her what exactly the situation was. Had Booth just really asked her to get married? No, he couldn't have. And did she just say not "right now?" She suddenly realized that they were arguing in front of Angela and Hodgins' guests and she was embarrassed, which is something that did not happen to Temperance Brennan very often.

Booth narrowed his eyes and smiled the same grin he had sported only a few minutes earlier when Angela and Hodgins had left.

"Right, everyone to the reception!" Angela's father broke the tension that had risen. "I guess I'll try to track down my daughter," he added, speaking only to the wedding party as he turned to leave.

All of the guests rose and a wave of chatter flooded the tiny church. Zach and Cam approached Booth and Brennan.

"I think we'll head over there. Are you two coming?" Cam inquired.

"Yeah, we'll be there in a minute," Booth replied.

Zach leaned in towards Booth. "I really do want to know how much it hurts to get shot," Zach told him.

Booth wrinkled his face and stared at Zach, whose gaze was unwavering. "Uh, we'll talk about it at the reception," Booth finally replied when he realized that Zach was serious. Of course, Zach was always serious.

Zach and Cam followed the rest of the guests out of the church, leaving Booth and Brennan alone with the minister.

"Do I need to stay?" she asked them, a smile on her face.

"Uh, no. Sorry about all of this," Booth replied, smiling sheepishly. Brennan remained frozen, her eyes narrowed, indicating she was deep in thought.

"Are you sure? Because there ARE ways around the marriage license thing," the minister said, chuckling slightly.

"No, no. We're fine. Thank you," Booth replied quickly as he pulled Brennan away from the altar. She followed in his grasp.

Brennan's mouth was half open and her eyes were still narrowed.

"Did you just ask me to marry you?" she asked Booth bluntly.

His eyes grew wide yet again. "What? No, I was just joking around. You know, trying to lighten the mood since the bride and groom abandoned all of us," he replied, a bit too quickly.

Brennan was not convinced and her facial expression did not change. "Because you know I don't believe-"

"In marriage, got it, Bones. Now, how about that reception?" Booth said as he maneuvered her quickly out of the church.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"What are you drinking?" Brennan asked Cam as she approached the open bar.

"Fuzzy Navel," Cam replied as she took a sip of the orange drink.

"What's in that?" Brennan asked.

"Peach Schnapps, vodka, and orange juice," Cam replied as she stirred.

Brennan turned to the bartender. "I'd like a…fuzzy….thing. What's it called?" she turned back to Cam.

"Navel. Fuzzy Navel," Cam said, slightly taken aback that Dr. Brennan was ordering alcohol. She herself had never seen Brennan drink.

"Yeah, a Fuzzy Navel, please," she said to the bartender, who had already started mixing the drink. He handed it to Brennan, who took a long sip through the skinny straw.

"Feeling okay?" Cam asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine. This drink is really sweet," she said as she wrinkled her nose. "But it's actually quite good," she added, taking another long sip.

"So, where do you think they went?" Cam asked Brennan, who was glancing around the room, distracted.

"Who?" Brennan asked.

Cam shifted her eyes. "Angela and Hodgins…the bride and groom," Cam spelled it out for Brennan.

"Oh, of course. I don't know. Maybe they just went on their honeymoon…wow, this drink is really good," Brennan replied, sucking up the last bit of juice. She turned to the bartender. "I'd like another, please."

Cam watched this display of rebellion with interest as she thought back to the events of earlier that night. She laughed to herself as the image of both Brennan and Booth's faces came to her mind. They had looked like deer caught in the headlights. Cam found this quite amusing.

Before Cam could say anything to Brennan about how sweet drinks often leave one far more hungover in the morning, Booth walked up.

Brennan had been avoiding him all night, which was extremely difficult, considering the banquet room at the Italian restaurant was not very big.

"Who's up for a dance?" he asked the two women, flashing a charm smile.

Brennan quickly grabbed her second Fuzzy Navel and began sucking it down. Cam glanced from Booth to Brennan.

"Uh, sure. Sounds great," Cam replied when she realized how desperately Brennan was trying to avoid Booth. She set her glass down on the bartender's counter.

Booth grabbed Cam's hand and whisked her away, glancing back at Brennan, whose eyes darted away as she sucked up her last sip. She better slow down Booth thought to himself. He knew that Brennan was more of a wine person and he was quite sure that she didn't know how hard those sweet drinks could hit.

Brennan watched Booth and Cam dance to the '50s classic, "Shout!" She didn't know why, but a pang of uneasiness hit her in the chest when she saw the two of them together. She glanced around the room for Zach, thinking that perhaps he would like to dance. She felt like she should have someone to dance with just to show Booth up. As she started on her third Fuzzy Navel, the song changed to "I Will Survive" and Booth and Cam continued to tear up the dance floor.

With her straw between her lips, Brennan glared at the two of them, who seemed to be having a fabulous time, much to Brennan's dismay. Her mind wandered back to earlier that night when her best friend was supposed to be getting married. She thought about the look Booth had had on his face when she asked him what they should do. He had smiled at her…not a charm smile and not a regular smile. But more of a playful and even embarrassed smile. She couldn't figure out what he had been thinking and it was driving her crazy. Now, 3 Fuzzy Navels later, she almost wanted to blame her best friend for making things complicated. But she couldn't do that. Angela must have had some reason for leaving her own wedding…with her fiancé. Brennan couldn't wrap her mind around that one either, so she had decided to mull it over later.

The song ended and Booth and Cam began making their way off of the dance floor. Brennan watched them through steeled eyes as she ordered another peach-colored drink. What was wrong with her anyway? She wasn't jealous, was she? No, she couldn't be. Booth could do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted…well, except for Rebecca. She had promised him that she would keep him from going back there again. But still, she glared at the two of them as that pang hit her smack in the chest again. What in the hell is wrong with you, Temperance? she asked herself silently.

Deep in her reverie, she didn't even notice Booth standing in front of her. "Bones? Earth to Bones?" he said as he waved his hand in front of her face.

Straw in her mouth, she snapped out of it. "Booth. Hi!" she exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically.

"Did you hear me?" he asked her, leaning in closer to force her to look at him.

"Uh, no," she replied, smiling awkwardly.

"I said, would you like to dance?" Booth asked.

"Dance…right. Well, I'm not really a very good dancer, so…" Brennan said as she bit on her straw and sucked in the hard liquor.

"Well, I already know that's not true," Booth replied as he reached forward and grabbed her drink from her hand.

"Hey!" Brennan whined. "I wasn't done with that!"

"Just dance with me, Bones," he insisted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dance floor. "Chapel Of Love" was playing when they reached the floor.

"I don't know how to dance to this," Brennan told him, teetering slightly on one foot.

"Just follow me and don't try to lead. You always try to lead," Booth said as he pulled her to him.

Brennan felt her heart skip as he grabbed her waist and placed her right hand in his left.

"I do not," she whined again as they began to move to the music, which was quite difficult to do, considering the song. She quickly forgot what they had been arguing about and she fell silent.

"Are you alright?" Booth asked her after she gave up her protest far too quickly.

"I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Brennan replied, annoyed. "Is it because I'm actually drinking hard alcohol that you and Cam are so concerned?" Brennan asked, even more irritated as she said Cam's name with a wrinkle of her nose and a squint of her eyes.

"No, Bones, that's not it. But you know, you really should slow down on those orange things. How many have you had?" Booth asked her as they turned, hand in hand.

"Wouldn't you like to know?!" Brennan replied, her eyes widened and her lips pursed.

Booth stopped dancing and dropped his arms from her waist. "Okay, maybe dancing wasn't such a good idea," he said as he started to leave the floor.

"Booth, wait," Brennan whined. Even though they had been bickering (which was what they seemed to do best), she was quite enjoying his arm on her waist. It made her warm. "I liked dancing."

Booth looked at her and he could see the alcohol beginning to take its effect as she shifted unsteadily from one foot to the other. He walked back to her. "Fine. But you promise to be nice?" he asked before taking her hand.

"Yes, I promise to be nice," Brennan replied, rolling her eyes as she took his hand.

"Okay then," Booth replied, smiling.

She eyed him narrowly before giving him a half smile. As they began to resume their dancing positions, the song ended and a new one began…a much slower one. The first words rung out "Wise men say…only fools rush in," and Booth's face wore a soft smile. Brennan smiled back and assumed her position. Booth's hand fell on her waist and he pulled her closer than he had before, but not quite too close so that their bodies were touching. A shiver went down Brennan's spine and her body shuddered.

"Are you cold?" Booth asked, genuinely.

Brennan smiled slightly. "A little," she lied. He was, in fact, making her quite warm.

"I can't help falling in love with you," Elvis Presley crooned. Booth and Brennan looked at each other as the words rang out and a split second later, they both glanced away.

He could feel the heat emanating from her body and he knew in an instant that she had been lying. He forced his eyes back to hers. "So, some wedding, huh?" he said with a weak smile.

"Don't you mean the lack thereof?" Brennan replied as she swayed with him to the rhythm.

"Right," Booth replied, his eyes widening slightly and his smile matching the one he had worn at the altar. "Oh, I haven't told you. I talked to Carolyn and she said that the reason there wasn't a wedding was because Angela is legally still married," Booth informed Brennan.

"What, the fire dance? Are you serious?" Brennan asked, astounded.

"Yup," Booth replied. "So, apparently, she has to get divorced before she can get married."

"How is she possibly going to find him? I don't think she even remembers who he is. She told me she had consumed a rather large amount of alcohol that night. She called it 'forest juice' or something," Brennan replied.

"Jungle juice, Bones, and the percentage of alcohol in it is extremely high," Booth explained.

"Poor Ang," Brennan expressed as her eyes drooped. She felt bad for her friend.

"Yeah well, the two of them didn't look too upset. I'd say they're probably on their way to Fiji by now," Booth said as he spun Brennan around his finger.

She was caught slightly off guard and she tripped over her own feet and fell into Booth's arms. Her heart skipped a few beats as she breathed in a hint of cologne.

"Sorry," she said as she quickly pushed herself off of his chest.

Booth watched her stumble back up to a standing position and he chuckled to himself. "I think it's almost bedtime for you," Booth said as he placed his arms on her shoulders, steadying her.

"I'm not tired, I'm fine. We're dancing," Brennan replied as she took Booth's arm and placed it back on her waist, grabbing his hand in the process.

It was Booth's turn to be taken aback at his partner's abruptness, which he was used to, but not in this manner. He took advantage of it and pulled her close yet again, still wary of her wavering stance. He looked at her and his heart warmed. She was absolutely beautiful with her hair swept up in interlacing curls. Her shoulders and her arms were so soft and smooth and he wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms.

She looked up at him as the song ended. Their eyes connected and neither one of them blinked. They stood there, still dancing and staring into each other's eyes. Booth stroked her hand in his and leaned his head towards her. Her eyes widened and just as his face was only centimeters from hers, she tripped yet again over her own feet and into his arms.

"Sorry," she said again, irritated.

Booth smiled that same boyish grin and helped her regain her balance. "It's okay. The song's over anyway," he replied, realizing that he had just nearly kissed her.

Brennan's eyes darted wildly away and towards the bar. "You want a drink?" she asked him, smiling awkwardly.

"Yeah, that'd be good. But you, you're done," Booth told her.

"What? No, Booth, I'm gonna have another one of those fuzzy things. They're really good," she said as she gave him a thumbs up.

He stared at her, his face adorned with the most quizzical expression he could muster. "If you even try to-" Booth couldn't finish his sentence.

"Booth, do an old woman a favor and dance with me," Carolyn appeared and patted Booth on the shoulder. "It would make my night," she said as she smiled at him.

Booth looked from Carolyn to Brennan. "Of course, it would be my pleasure," he said as he took Carolyn's hand. "I'll catch up with you in a few minutes," he told Brennan.

She nodded and smiled as she headed off to the bar and to another Fuzzy Navel.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Well, that was an interesting display you and Dr. Brennan put on earlier," Carolyn remarked as Booth danced quite awkwardly with the round woman. "So, when exactly are you going to ask Miss Legs to marry you?" Carolyn asked, a playful smile on her face.

Booth's face contorted. "What? Ask Bones to marry me? Why would I do that? She's my partner…uh, work partner. Nothing more," Booth attempted to explain to Carolyn. She wasn't buying it.

"Uh-huh. The way you look at her, I'd say you're quite a bit farther than head over heals in love with her," Carolyn pointed out.

Booth's eyes went wide and the same quirky smile returned to his face. "Why don't you just keep your nose in our cases and out of our personal lives, sound good?" Booth asked her.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, you called me all the way down to New Orleans to DEFEND Dr. Brennan on murder charges and I'm a prosecutor…I'd say that's more than a work partnership," Carolyn reminded him.

Booth stared at her for a moment, his face slightly wrinkled. "That was a compliment to you, Carolyn. You are the best attorney I know and she needed help," Booth explained rationally.

"Right, honey, you call it whatever you want…" Carolyn said as the song ended and Booth twirled her. "Thank you for making an old lady's night. Now, go find Miss Legs before she tries to leave by herself."

Booth gave Carolyn a half smile before leaving her to go find Brennan. He checked the bar first and had no luck. He stood at the bar, glancing around the small banquet hall. He finally caught a glimpse of purple out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Brennan sitting at the dinner table, slumped halfway over with her head in her hands. He smiled and walked briskly towards her.

"Bones, hey, how you doing?" Booth asked as he sat down next to her.

She lifted her head from her hands and looked him right in the eyes for a few moments without uttering a word. Suddenly, her face broke out in a wide smile and she reached for her glass, holding it up in front of Booth's face. "Want a sip?" she asked him, giggling as she spoke.

Booth wrinkled his face, but smiled at the same time, thinking about how incredibly adorable she was right now. "No, I'm fine," Booth replied.

"Okay, fine," Brennan retorted and raised the glass to her mouth for another sip.

Booth immediately grabbed the glass from her hand. "On second thought, that does look pretty tasty," he replied and brought the glass to his mouth, taking a small sip. "Mmm…very tasty," Booth said as he grimaced slightly at the sugariness of the peachy-orange concoction.

"That drink…a fuzzy…belly button, is the most yummy thing I have ever had," Brennan said, smiling brightly and pointing to the glass in Booth's hand.

Booth wrinkled his face once again. "Most yummy? Bones, how many of these have you had?" he asked her, quite concerned about how she was going to feel in the morning.

"I don't know…6, I think?" she replied, her upper body swaying in her seat. "Or maybe 8. Can you get me another one?" she asked him, her eyes closing slightly as she spoke.

"Uh, sure, Bones. Why don't we both get up and we can grab one on the way out, huh?" Booth replied, standing up and fully intending on walking right past the bar.

"The way out? Where are we going?" Brennan asked with only one eye open as the other fluttered shut.

"Home. I am taking you home," Booth told her as he placed his arms under her armpits and lifted her out of her seat. She wore a startled look, but allowed Booth to practically pick her up.

He placed his right arm under her shoulders and steadied her body by placing his left hand on her hips. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I wonder where Angela and Hodgins are," Brennan pondered aloud as Booth walked her slowly across the room.

"Like I said, they're probably in Fiji, on their honeymoon," Booth replied.

Brennan pondered this for a few moments as she slung her arm around Booth's shoulders to keep from falling over. Even though she was not very heavy, Booth found it quite difficult to support her as she leaned nearly all of her weight on his body.

"Weren't we supposed to do something? Something specific as best man and maid of honor," Brennan said suddenly and she was quite concerned that they had failed at their duties.

"Bones, there wasn't a wedding. The so-called 'bride and groom' are gone. We were supposed to give toasts, but there was no one to toast to," Booth explained and Brennan nodded.

"That is very true," she agreed, lifting her head for a moment before the room started spinning and she wobbled to the side. She quickly returned her head to his shoulder.

Booth held on tighter to her waist and looked over at her as they made their way out of the building and to the parking lot. Her eyes were closed again as she walked to the pace he had set. He knew of one other obligation that Hodgins had mentioned and he figured he would fill Brennan in on it…just to see her reaction. "Well, there was the toast and of course, the traditional maid of honor and best man tongue kiss," Booth said, flashing her a charm smile (which she didn't see since her eyes were still closed).

Suddenly, her head flew off of his shoulder and she stared wide-eyed at him. Uh-oh, shouldn't have said that Booth thought as he grimaced. "Oooh! That sounds like fun!" Brennan exclaimed, leaning in closer to Booth.

The expression on Booth's face was one of confusion, excitement, and all out bewilderment. "What? Bones, I was kidding," Booth half-lied.

"What? Why? Come on, Booth, we're both adults. It'll be fun," she replied, her face beaming as she attempted to jump up and down, only to trip on her foot for the third time that night, which sent both of them crashing to the pavement. "Ouch!" Brennan exclaimed as she landed on her left knee. Booth fell right on top of her.

He stared at her for a moment before quickly returning to his feet after she winced in pain. He reached down to help her up. "Bones, are you alright?" he asked, truly concerned as she grabbed onto her knee.

"My knee…it hurts," she replied, grabbing onto his outreached hand.

He pulled her up gently and looked down at her knee, which was dripping with blood. "I should have made you take off those heels. What are they, 3 inches?" Booth said.

"Yes, they are. I wanted to be as tall as you, so we looked like the perfect couple," Brennan confessed, smiling at him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again.

There was a moment of awkwardness before Booth spoke. "We should clean that up when we get you home," he said as he helped her the remaining 20 feet to his car. He leaned her up against the side of the SUV and reached for the passenger door…but she stopped him with her arm, her eyes glistening at him.

"Bones, you need to get home and get some rest, come on," he said as he reached for the door again, and again, she grabbed his arm.

"How about that tongue kiss?" she asked, a playful smile on her face.

Booth's first instinct was to take her up on her offer, but he pushed the thought away. "Bones, you've had too much to drink-"

"Yes, I am quite aware of that, thank you," she cut him off, still smiling.

Booth sighed. "I think we need to get you home and into bed, okay? Then tomorrow, you'll wake up feeling much better…and much more…sane," Booth told her.

A pout made its way across her face and she let go of his arm as he opened the passenger door. "Fine. You don't want to kiss me, that's just fine," she said forcefully, her lips pursed as she stumbled into the passenger seat.

Oh, quite the contrary Booth thought as he helped her into the car. He reached around her waist and clicked the seatbelt into place, his heart racing at the closeness of their bodies. But now she was mad, he could tell by the fact that she wouldn't look at him.

He shut the door and made his way to the driver's side and hopped in. "Bones, hey. Are you okay?" he asked her gently.

Tears formed in the blue-gray pools of her eyes as she looked out the window. "I'm fine," she replied.

Booth sighed and started the ignition, pulling out of the parking lot with Brennan leaning on the window, a tear streaming down her cheek.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Booth and Brennan stumbled through Brennan's apartment door and immediately, she attempted to flee his grasp. Swinging the evening bag she had held during the ceremony, she staggered to the couch and collapsed into it, her eyes shutting on contact with the cushiony surface. Booth held her shoes, which he had made her take off in the car after a 5 minute conversation on the lack of comfort vs. the fashionable benefits to 3 inch heels. Booth watched her for a moment, standing close to the kitchen, trying to figure out exactly what to do about the situation. She had taken her hair down in the car after complaining about the bobby pins "boring holes in her skull." Her hair was now a mess atop her head with curls sticking out in every direction. Booth actually thought it was quite cute. He felt that he shouldn't leave her alone in her condition, worried that she would get sick in the middle of the night and not remember how she had gotten back to her apartment. He didn't have to wait very long before his worry became reality.

A few moments later, Brennan darted off of the couch and made a rather wobbly beeline for the bathroom, dropping her purse on the floor as she flew across the room. She went directly to the toilet and threw up, wincing in pain as she fell on her knees.

Booth dropped her shoes on the floor and followed her to the bathroom. He wanted to make sure she didn't have alcohol poisoning, which was unlikely, but it did give him an excuse to stay with her.

As he reached the bathroom, he leaned down to rub her back. She flinched at his touch.

"Booth…no," she attempted to say as she heaved.

"Bones, you're sick. I want to help," he told her, reaching over to the sink and grabbing a washcloth, which he ran under cold water.

After a few moments, Brennan flushed the toilet and fell against the shower door, clutching her knee, which was still bleeding.

"I'm a mess, Booth. Just…leave me alone," Brennan said, icily. Her sanity was beginning to creep back into her consciousness as she tried to remember exactly what she had actually done and said to Booth. She leaned her head in her hands as Booth stepped towards her and leaned down on one knee.

"I'm not leaving you. Here, this will help," he said as he placed the cold washcloth on her forehead.

She grimaced and attempted to swat his hand away, but once her hand fell on his, electricity pulsed through her and she allowed him to press the cloth against her hot forehead. She closed her eyes and tilted her head against the shower door, sighing in the process.

Booth pressed gently on her forehead as he watched her. He kicked himself inside for not throwing her fourth drink across the banquet hall. Sure, he would have had to put up with a verbal beating, but at least she wouldn't be feeling the way she did now. He smiled softly at her, but she didn't see and he didn't care. After another few moments, he glanced down at her knee.

"Bones, can you hold this?" he asked, indicating the washcloth. "I'm going to clean up your knee. Do you have hydrogen peroxide? Band-aids?" he inquired as her hand took over washcloth duty.

She squinted her eyes and pointed towards the sink. "Medicine cabinet," she replied.

Booth opened the cabinet and searched as Brennan attempted to get up, but failed as her hand slipped off of the toilet. She groaned.

"Bones, hey, don't try to get up, okay?" Booth said as he reached down to help her.

"I'm not comfortable, Booth. I want bed," Brennan replied, her eyes fluttering and her mouth wearing the biggest pout Booth had ever seen.

"Okay, alright. But let me help you," Booth said as he reached down and wrapped his arms around her upper torso, lifting gently as she grasped onto his shoulders. She teetered slightly as she stood, but he caught her and supported her. "Okay, here we go," he said as they wobbled slowly across the living room and to the bedroom.

Their bodies glued together, Booth could not help but take in the lovely aroma that emanated from Brennan's body. Maybe it was her shampoo or perhaps she had worn perfume Nah, not Bones Booth thought as his mind returned to the task at hand…getting her to bed.

As they reached the bed, Brennan turned to him. "Booth?" she asked, a wrinkle in her brow.

"Yeah?" he inquired, looking into her eyes.

"Are we in my apartment?" she asked him with a look of sheer and utter confusion blanketing her face. She literally had no idea what the answer was. Booth could not hold back a soft smile. Through the 6…or 8 drinks, the tongue kiss comment, and the throwing up, Booth still thought Brennan was even more adorable than ever.

"Yes, we are," he replied, still smiling. "And here is your bed," he said as he turned her body towards it.

"Bed. Good," she replied as she fell from his arms and onto the sheets, which were quite unkempt.

Booth was a bit startled, but thankful that she was in bed at last…the only problem was that she was still in her bridesmaid's dress.

"Uh, Bones? Do you have pajamas…or something you want to wear to sleep in?" he asked her, nervously, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

She looked up at him. "I'm not IN my pajamas?" she asked, once again, quite confused.

Booth laughed out loud. "Uh, no, you're in your bridesmaid's dress," he replied, his mind returning to the adorability of his partner.

"Really?" she replied as one eye fluttered open and glanced down her body while the other remained shut.

Booth waited a moment and after she didn't say anything, he decided he should try to resolve the problem. "Do you want to change?" he asked, a furrow in his brow as he didn't quite know how to get her out of the dress and into pajamas.

Brennan pondered the question for a while, leaning up on her elbows as her brow furrowed as well.

"Bones?" Booth asked when she hadn't answered yet.

"What?" she asked a second before comprehension set in. "Right, pajamas…yeah. In the second drawer…over there," Brennan replied as she swung her hand in all directions.

Booth wrinkled his face, attempting to follow Brennan's finger in the air. He was relieved when he realized that there was only one chest of drawers. He walked to it and opened the second drawer. The first things to catch his eye were her array of undergarments, which ranged from a white lace bra to a single neon pink lace nightie. Feeling as though he were invading her privacy, he quickly searched for something less risqué and slightly more comfortable for her to wear. In the right corner of the drawer, he found a silky light blue nightgown that appeared to be ankle length.

"Okay, got your pajamas. So…here you go," Booth said as he placed the nightgown on top of Brennan. "I'll go get the hydrogen peroxide," he said as he began to leave the room.

Brennan shifted in bed, propping herself up and reaching her arms around her back in an attempt to grab hold of the zipper. She tried again and failed. A soft whine escaped her lips and she began to pout.

As Booth was not out of the room yet, he turned to see what the problem was. "Bones, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Zipper. Can you get it?" she asked, looking at him through blurry eyes as she leaned her head back against the headboard as though it had taken all of her strength to try to grab the zipper.

Booth hesitated a moment, but realized that he was going to have to unzip the dress for her to get out of it. He walked to the bed and placed his hands on her shoulders, lifting her forward slightly so he could reach the back of the dress. He leaned his head closer into hers so he could see. The first thing he did was rip the bow off. That thing had been bugging him all night.

His right hand gripped her shoulders and she sighed, smiling softly at his touch as her body warmed. She felt his left hand on her back as he slid the zipper down. He was so warm. In her alcoholic haze, she could feel the energy that was pulsing through their bodies. It was almost magnetic as she felt the urge to be near him.

His breath caught in his throat as her hand took his and squeezed. She turned to him and their eyes connected. He could see the warmth in her sparkling eyes and he could feel the heat from her body and all he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and kiss her. He looked intently at her, his heart racing, and it took all of his will power to pull his eyes away from hers. He straightened his stance and stepped away from the bed, placing her hand gently on her own stomach.

"Your knee. I'll get the stuff," Booth said as he turned from the bed.

"Booth," she called after him, her eyes glistening as she turned to him.

He turned back to her. "Bones, look, I don't want you to do anything you're going to hate yourself for later," he said bluntly.

She looked at him, wanting so much to just break down all of the barriers and forget about the consequences. It wasn't rational and she was well aware of that, but she didn't care. In this moment, all she wanted was to be with him and be loved by him.

"I won't hate myself. It's my choice. I know I might not be the best at instincts, but I feel like you want to…be with me, too," Brennan confessed, a tear trickling down her cheek. She searched his face for an answer.

Booth hesitated for a long few moments. She had never been more accurate about her instincts, but he did not want her to regret it and he most definitely did not want to make love to her with 6…or 8 drinks controlling that huge brain of hers.

"No, Bones…I don't want to," he finally replied, lying through his teeth. But he knew it was the only way that he was going to get her to back down at this point. He could see the fire in her eyes snuffed out as he spoke the words. The look on her face changed from sheer desire to hurt.

She pulled the straps to her dress back up on her shoulders and brushed the tear from her cheek, not wanting Booth to see her half-naked. Her eyes darted away. "Okay, well…I guess my instincts are wrong…again," she said, a painful tone in her voice.

He wanted to take it back and tell her he had been lying and that she was, in fact, the only thing that he wanted. But he knew he couldn't. So, he started for the door again.

"I'll get the hydrogen peroxide," he said as he exited, leaving Brennan sitting on her bed, clutching to her dress, and staring straight ahead at nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Brennan awoke to a pounding head and an extremely dry mouth. Her lips were stuck together and the back of her throat was stinging. She licked her lips and swallowed three or four times before finally opening her eyes. She lifted her head off of the pillow, but quickly fell back into it as her head throbbed, her heart pulsing through it. She reached her hand to her forehead and held onto it, pressing gently. Everything was fuzzy as she attempted again to sit up. As she came to a sitting position, she looked down to see that she was dressed in her favorite light blue nightgown. How did I get this on? she pondered, a wrinkle in her brow. She slid out from underneath the covers and placed her feet on the carpet, her brain hammering at her skull. She took a few moments before bringing herself to a standing position and beginning her walk to the bathroom for some aspirin.

Her brow remained furrowed as she tried to figure out exactly what had happened the previous night. The last thing she remembered was Booth saying something about a tongue kiss? She stopped walking at the thought and wrinkled her entire face in an attempt to rationalize why Booth had been talking about tongue kissing. As she contemplated the possibilities, bits and pieces started falling together…Booth half carrying her out of the reception; her getting angry at him for…something. She wracked her brain, trying to think of why she had been angry with him. She reached the bathroom door and it hit her smack in the face as her eyes fell on the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and the box of Band-aids. Her eyes went wide as it all came flooding back to her. The "tongue kiss," her WANTING to tongue kiss, falling on her knee (which immediately began to hurt at the thought of it), throwing up, falling into bed, Booth unzipping her dress, her hand on his…the desire that overwhelmed her senses when he had been that close to her. She felt it again at the thought of him that close to her and her spine tingled. She tried to push the sensations away, telling herself that it wasn't rational to feel this way. Just as she had made the decision to try and forget about it all, the last and most crushing memory hit her…Booth hadn't even wanted her. She had been lying there in her bed, half-naked, and he had told her that he didn't want her.

A tear fell from her eye and she brushed it away hastily, her face contorting into a fit of anger. She stood in the bathroom doorway, frozen in her spot as she remembered Booth's words: "No, Bones, I don't want to." That's what he had said, crystal clear. There was no denying it. True, she had had way too much alcohol, but she knew that what she felt was real and she had been almost certain that Booth felt the same way. And now that she knew the truth, it stung as though she had been beaten.

She didn't want to feel this way; she didn't want to be in love…Wait?! Am I in love with him? she thought to herself as her mouth dropped open. No, there is no such thing as love. It is merely a mixture of endorphins… she couldn't even finish her thought as the door to her apartment swung open and Booth walked through it, holding a grocery bag in one hand. He still wore his tux shirt and black pants. He halted at the sight of her.

"Oh, hey, Bones. You're up," he said as he closed the door and headed to the kitchen, setting the grocery bag on the counter.

Brennan stood there, wide-eyed and extremely confused. "Booth, what are you doing here?" she asked, completely mystified as to why her partner was waltzing into her apartment unannounced at 9:30 in the morning.

"You didn't have any bacon," he said as though she would know what he was talking about.

She remained in her spot, suddenly quite aware that all she was wearing was a nearly see-through nightgown and she folded her arms across her chest.

Booth looked over at her, taking in the beautiful curve of her body as the nightgown clung to her in all the right places.

"Bacon? Booth, how did I get into my nightgown? And what are you doing with the bacon?" Brennan asked, still quite confused as her lips pursed together.

"I am making you breakfast…bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns," Booth replied as he emptied the contents of the grocery bag onto the counter and flipped one of the stove burners on.

"I'm not hungry. And you didn't answer my first question," Brennan insisted, glaring at him as she hugged herself.

Booth walked towards her and she stepped back. Yup, she remembers he thought to himself, secretly hoping beyond all hopes that the alcohol haze had taken most of the memories with it. But, he could tell by the tone in her voice and the look in her eyes that his hopes were all for naught.

"I helped you into it after I cleaned up your knee. Don't worry, I turned my back," he reassured her, attempting a small smile, but dropping it as soon as he saw the look on her face.

Her eyes were piercing. She was at a loss for words, although her mouth lay half open as though she were about to speak.

"Bones, look, I promise, okay? I just wanted you to be comfortable," Booth replied, this time without the smile.

A vague memory of the smell of hydrogen peroxide crept its way into her mind and she instinctively grabbed onto her knee, feeling the padded gauze that covered it. She knew that Booth wouldn't invade her privacy, but that still didn't make her feel any better. She was mad at herself for practically throwing herself at Booth, but most of all, she was upset that he had rejected her. Dammit! she yelled to herself.

"Okay, fine. But, I'm really not hungry, Booth," Brennan replied after a few moments, her eyes darting away from his.

"You need lots of greasy food for your hangover, or else-" he couldn't finish.

"Can you just leave? Please?" Brennan asked him forcefully, her eyes pleading.

Booth glanced down at the floor before meeting her eyes again. "Bones, do you want to talk about it?" he asked her.

"Talk about what, Booth? There's nothing to talk about. Please…just…leave," Brennan said as she sighed. She needed to be alone to think about what all of this meant for their partnership. It couldn't be good, that she knew for sure.

Booth was not going to force it. She was clearly uncomfortable as he thought she might be and he would have to give her her space. Booth nodded his head and grabbed his wallet, heading for the door.

"Make sure you turn off the stove," he said as he turned back to her one last time before disappearing, closing the door behind him.

Brennan stood frozen in her place, staring at the door. She didn't know what to feel first: embarrassment, hurt, sorrow. It all hit her at once and a tear returned to the corner of her eye. What was she going to do now?


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Brennan was hunched over a set of remains, squinting at the skull as Zach stood close behind her, watching her every move.

"It looks as though the malleus was crushed by the force of the bullet. Do another exam of the bullet and the ear and bring me the report," Brennan said to Zach.

"Should I leave a copy on Angela's desk for facial reconstruction?" Zach asked.

"Of course, just like you always do," Brennan reminded him.

"I was just curious since we, in fact, don't know where Angela and Hodgins are or when they are coming back," Zach replied.

"They will be back, Zach. Would you be questioning me if you knew for a fact that they were on their honeymoon?" Brennan asked.

Zach looked slightly taken aback. "Right. I hadn't thought of that," he replied.

Brennan smiled and turned to leave the platform, but Zach stopped her.

"Dr. Brennan?" he said in a questioning tone.

"Yes, Zach?" she replied.

"Do you know when Booth will be coming by the lab?" Zach asked her.

Her eyes fell into a glare as her jaw clenched and her lips pursed. "No, I don't," was all she said before quickly turning on her heels and heading off of the platform, leaving Zach standing and staring, consumed with his own worries.

She fell into the chair behind her desk as she sighed. It was 10:00 Monday morning and she had already been at the lab for nearly 4 hours. She had spent most of her Sunday attempting to wash the memories of Saturday out of her head…literally. She had approximately 3 loads of laundry she had neglected for far too long and she decided that Sunday was the perfect time to do all of it. Thoughts of the weekend floated through her head and once she was done folding the last pair of slacks, all of the worries hit her smack in the face. Her feelings for Booth had been crossing the line into relationship territory in her mind for a while now, but she knew that in reality, it could lead to a disaster. So, she had never acted on the feelings. But 6…or 8 Fuzzy Belly Buttons later and she was practically naked in his arms…and THAT was what had confirmed for her what she had been questioning in her mind.

Now that she was done examining the most recent set of remains, she was alone with her thoughts. She leaned forward in her chair and clicked on the mouse, bringing the computer screen to life. She decided that checking e-mails could possibly take up some time, so she logged in and saw that she had 4 new messages waiting in her inbox. She clicked on the "inbox" button and saw that one of the messages was from one "Angela M." Her eyes widened and a smile popped onto her face as she clicked the subject line hastily.

"Sweetie! Hi! Okay, so you're probably wondering why in the hell Jack and I left our OWN wedding, right? Well, it's kind of a funny story, actually. You remember that fire dance? Yeah, well, turns out that I'm actually still married. Oops! But we're going to fix it. Jack said he'd use all of his necessary connections from the Cantilever Group to track my 'husband' down. He's gone all alpha male on me…kinda like Booth. It's actually quite sweet. But I just wanted to let you know that we are both fine. Oh! And we are in Fiji. We decided to screw it all and go on our honeymoon.

Can you tell everyone that we're sorry for leaving them? I kinda feel bad…but not too much. LOL

I love you, sweetie! I'll see you in a week!

Hugs&Kisses,

Ang"

Brennan's day had suddenly gotten much brighter. Her smile did not leave her face except for a moment towards the end of the e-mail when she tried to figure out what "LOL" could possibly mean; at which point, her smile mixed with the wrinkle in her brow to create a very puzzled expression. She was extremely relieved to know that Angela was alright. She had hoped she would hear from her soon. Brennan knew that Angela was in for one heck of a scavenger hunt trying to track down her "husband." And she would do everything she could to help her and she knew Booth would too.

Booth. Her mind returned to the place she had been keeping it from for the past 24 hours. He hadn't called and she knew that he was avoiding her because she was doing the exact same thing. She didn't know what to feel. Embarrassment still plagued her, but there were so many other emotions raging inside of her that she couldn't keep them straight. But most of all, hurt was rearing its ugly head…and it was manifesting itself in the form of anger. She couldn't appear hurt; it made her far too vulnerable and she was well aware of that fact. She couldn't be that exposed in front of him ever again…it was too risky. What if they HAD slept together that night? Brennan pushed the thought from her head and she could not allow the happy thoughts of "what if" drift into her mind.

After browsing through the other 3 e-mails, she decided to see what Zach might have for her. Normally by now, Booth would have called her at least once just to check in. But not today. Brennan understood why because she felt the same, but as she clicked the "x" on her e-mail, a horrible thought came to her mind: what if Booth tried to get reassigned because of what had happened? She couldn't deal with that. She couldn't let that happen. She would have to make sure that Booth didn't leave her…leave her. Those 2 words lingered in her mind. What if he did leave her? What if he decided that it was too awkward? Her eyes went wide at the thought and she froze, her brow furrowed as she contemplated what she would do without him. Perhaps he was so uncomfortable because of her behavior and because of her unreciprocated desire to be with him that he had decided to go straight to Cullen for reassignment.

The idea of it played out in Brennan's mind and she even went so far as to imagine breaking in a new FBI partner. Her reverie was interrupted as Zach appeared in her doorway.

"Dr. Brennan, I have the report finished," he told her, a packet of paper in his hands.

"What?" Brennan asked, completely caught up in her own world.

"The report…on the remains of John Doe. Just like you asked," Zach replied, oblivious to Brennan's mood.

"Of course. Thanks, Zach," she replied as he walked to her desk and set the packet down.

He looked her straight in the eyes before continuing. "Dr. Brennan, is Agent Booth coming in today?" he asked, his face severe.

"I don't know, Zach. I haven't spoken with him," Brennan replied, rising from her desk. Zach didn't budge and his eyes followed her as she stood up. She glanced back at him, wrinkling her brow. "Is something wrong, Zach?" she asked.

"I just…need to speak with Booth. Can you inform me when he gets here?" Zach asked and with that, he left her office.

She stared after him, quite confused, but her thoughts quickly returned to Booth. She gathered her bag and her car keys and headed out, bound and determined to make sure Booth didn't get reassigned…even if it meant embarrassing the hell out of herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Brennan barged through Booth's office door, nearly breathless from her eagerness to get there. He was sitting at his desk and his eyes went wide as she walked towards him. He opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't have the chance.

"You can't get reassigned!" Brennan spurted out without thinking, which is something she did not do very often. Her arms were planted firmly on her hips.

Booth's face contorted into a fit of confusion as he stared wide-eyed at his equally wide-eyed partner. "Huh?"

"I know that things were weird the other night, but I had consumed far too much alcohol and alcohol acts primarily on the nerve cells within the brain, interfering with communication between the cells and depressing the behavioral inhibitory centers within the cerebral cortex and subjecting the consumer to exaggerated states of emotion," Brennan rambled on and Booth did not stop her, a small smile creeping its way across his lips. "My limbic system was quite obviously impaired and just because my neurotransmitters weren't working properly does not mean that you can go and get reassigned!" she finished her rant, breathless once again at the energy it had taken her. She stared, wide-eyed at Booth, who simply sat in his chair and smiled. "WHAT?!" she exclaimed, her mouth wide open.

"Bones, why are you going on about me being reassigned? Do you know something I don't?" he asked her, still half-smiling.

Her face softened slightly as her lips closed. "No, I just thought that…I don't know what I thought, Booth," she admitted, sighing in frustration.

He knew she was hurt and that she was using anger as her defense. It was Bones, after all. The guilty twinge he had been feeling all weekend returned to his chest and poked at him as he sat there, still trying to figure out how to fix things with her. He had thought about his words probably a thousand times throughout the day on Sunday: "No, Bones, I don't want to." How could he say something like that? He knew he had only done it for her own good and that she never would have been able to forgive herself if they had indeed continued with their actions. But she was truly hurt, that he could tell. He had to make it right.

"Bones, I'm not going to request reassignment just because your limbo-whatever system was impaired," he replied, smiling as he mocked her.

She glared at him. "Limbic…and…good. I was just…worried, I guess," she stumbled over her words as she folded her arms across her chest.

Booth smiled. "Well, now that that's settled, would you like to have dinner tonight?" he asked suddenly. He had been mulling an idea over in his mind, and after Brennan's display a few moments earlier, he figured he should go ahead and risk it.

Brennan was taken aback. She wrinkled her face and stared at him for a moment before replying. "Dinner? Why?" she replied, a little too harshly.

Booth's face fell. Maybe she is just too mad Booth thought and quickly shook it away. "Okay, THAT wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for," he replied, raising his eyebrows.

Brennan shut her eyes for a moment and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just…of course we can have dinner. Takeout?" she asked, attempting a half-smile.

Booth smiled. "I was thinking more along the lines of something that involved messy dishes," he replied, smiling brightly at her.

She continued to stare him straight in the eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Since she was obviously quite unskilled in that area, as the events of the other night had proven, she gave up and smiled back at him. "What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"Well, since I didn't get to cook you breakfast," Booth began and a shade of crimson fell across Brennan's face, "I'll cook you dinner."

"Booth, you don't have to do that," she replied, unable to meet his gaze.

"Hey, you made me mac-n-cheese, I owe you one," Booth replied, smiling that sweet, soft smile that made her putty in his hands. She hated that it did that to her.

Brennan sighed. "Okay," she replied.

"Good," Booth said quickly, still smiling.

"Great," Brennan replied, smiling at him and not knowing what else to say.

There was an awkward silence as the partners continued to stare at each other. Booth was the first to break the gaze as he lifted a folder off of his desk. "So, onto another case," he said as he waved the folder in the air.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Ruffled black skirt with black top, red jacket, brown boots, red beaded Aztec necklace, and red drop earrings…OR…slightly faded jeans with royal blue scoop neck shirt, black heels, blue beaded Guatemalan necklace, and blue drop earrings?

Brennan didn't know why she was taking so much time deciding what to wear to dinner. She also didn't know quite how she was going to handle the interaction that would take place, but things had gone fairly well throughout the day, so she wasn't quite as nervous as she had been earlier in the day.

She held up the blue scoop neck sleeveless shirt and finally decided that it looked the best on her.

After the decision on clothing had been made, it had only taken Brennan another 10 minutes to get ready and in another 25 minutes, she was waiting outside Booth's door, bottle of wine in hand. She knocked and held her breath.

A few moments later, the door swung open and an aroma of something ever so sweet filled Brennan's nostrils.

Booth tried his best not to look her up and down as she looked stunning. "Hey, Bones. You're early," Booth replied, wiping his hands on the dishcloth draped across his shoulder.

"I know, traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," she replied, holding up the bottle of wine.

"Great. Thanks for bringing that," he said as he took the bottle and ushered her in, closing the door behind them. "Just gotta get back to the stove for a minute. The omelets are almost done," Booth informed her as he strode through the entryway and back into the kitchen.

Brennan followed closely behind. "Omelets?" she asked, slightly confused as it was 8:00 at night and she had never had an omelet for dinner.

"Yeah, omelets," Booth replied, shrugging as Brennan approached him at the stove. She looked down to see two skillets, each filled with the makings of a Denver omelet: onions, bell peppers, ham, cheese, bacon, all piled on top of eggs.

"We're having breakfast for dinner?" Brennan asked, actually quite impressed with Booth's apparent cooking skills.

"Like I said, I didn't get to make you breakfast," Booth replied, paying close attention to the skillets. With two swift motions of the spatula, Booth flipped each omelet over onto itself, making a perfect pocket. "Go sit down. Table's all ready and I'll have these over in a minute," Booth instructed her and she followed suit.

She walked to the table and took in the display before her. There were two long candles in the middle with two place settings. Between the two candles were a plate of sausage and a plate of something that Brennan had never seen before. The food item appeared to be made of some sort of crepe, but she couldn't determine what it was. Next to the unidentified item of food was a bowl filled with a deep red liquid. She was quite confused, but excited to find out what Booth had in store for her.

She looked back to Booth, whose back was to her as he hurried to finish the last bit of preparation. He grabbed the bottle of wine and began opening it.

"Here, let me do that," Brennan said, walking towards him.

"I got it, Bones. Just go and sit down. I'm cooking for YOU. I don't want you lifting a finger," Booth said as he flashed her a charm smile.

"You cleaned up the mac-n-cheese, I can at least open a bottle of wine," Brennan replied, crossing her arms and smiling at him.

Booth turned the wine opener one last time and the cork came off. He smiled. "Already done," he replied.

"Fine," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him as he smiled. "At least let me pour it."

"Okay, fine, here," he said as he handed her the bottle. "Now…sit," Booth said as he pointed to the table.

Smiling, she took the bottle and headed to the table. She poured each of them a glass before speaking. "Hey, Booth. What are these crepe things?" she asked him as she sat down.

"Those…" he said as he grabbed the two plates and whisked them over to the table, "…are cheese blintzes," he finished as he set one omelet in front of Brennan and sat down next to her with his own plate.

"What are cheese blintzes?" Brennan asked as she put her napkin in her lap.

"They are the single best part of a fancy breakfast," Booth replied, smiling, as he took the plate of blintzes and placed 3 on his plate.

Brennan smiled. "Really?" she asked as she took the plate of blintzes from him, giving herself 2 of the cream-cheese-filled crepes.

"Just try one. I guarantee you you'll agree with me. And this right here," he said, lifting the bowl of red liquid, "is the icing on the cake…raspberry syrup." He took the ladle from the bowl and poured the sauce all over the blintzes.

"Looks delicious. So, breakfast for dinner? I definitely wasn't expecting that," Brennan told him as she drenched her own crepes in syrup.

"Well, that's what you love about me, Bones…my unpredictability," he said, grabbing the plate of sausages and flashing her another charm smile.

She looked intently at him, wondering what on earth was going through his brain. He was cooking dinn…well, breakfast for her, but not even 48 hours earlier, he was turning her down and nearly breaking her heart. Why wasn't she angrier? She couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was his seemingly neverending charm…or perhaps his downright thoughtfulness that kept her from losing it. Her embarrassment had eased at least somewhat and she had him to thank for that. But the events of that Saturday had played in her head hundreds of times over the past 2 days. Some parts were fuzzier than others (she still didn't know exactly how she had gotten into her light blue nightgown), but she knew what had happened. She wanted to talk to Booth about it and admit how incredibly stupid she had been, but his words echoed in her mind and she was unable to utter a single word.

He looked back at her as he dug into his omelet. All he wanted was to make it right…and he was hoping that he could. She seemed to be doing alright, aside from the reassignment explosion. But this was Bones and he knew that she would need a lot of reassurance if things were going to get back to the way they had been before the Saturday night incident…and then there was the lingering thought of "what happened if things DIDN'T go back to normal...and in a good way?"

Brennan cut a blintz with her knife and fork after dowsing it in raspberry syrup and took a bite. The fork remained in her mouth as she savored the taste on her tongue and her eyes fluttered shut.

"Oh my God. Booth, this is…unbelievable," she said as she opened her eyes.

"You like it?" Booth asked, smiling brightly at her.

Brennan smiled playfully before speaking her next words, which she had chosen very carefully in her mind. "I'd like to be on my own with it," she said as she smiled, her eyebrows raised, completely unaware of how she had just botched her own joke.

Booth's forehead wrinkled instantaneously and he half-smiled quirkily at her. "Be alone with it, Bones. Not be on my own, that doesn't make sense," he explained.

Her smile quickly turned to a frown. "It sounded better when you said it," she replied, taking a bite of her omelet. "I guess I just…don't do jokes very well," she said, turning her attention to her plate and quite visibly upset with herself.

Booth knew that she had been attempting to be cute and funny and he realized that he had just crushed her ego. He nudged her with his elbow so that she would look him in the eyes.

"Hey, Bones. Jokes are overrated," he said, smiling brightly.

She glanced sideways at him as she took another bite of a cheese blintz. Damn, these are really good! she thought as the taste outweighed her embarrassment. She gave him a soft smile, which he returned, and she took another bite of a blintz.

All awkwardness vanished and Brennan savored each bite of her cheese blintzes, grabbing the plate for more.

"Told ya those were the best," Booth said, smiling again.

"These should be called cheese 'bliss…es' because eating them is sheer bliss," Brennan said as she took another bite. She hadn't even been trying to make a joke, but Booth laughed nonetheless.

"Now, THAT was clever AND funny," Booth told her, still chuckling at the comment.

"It was? Yeah, I guess it was," she said, smiling and nodding her head.

All Booth could do was smile and think about how adorable she was, especially when she was quite oblivious.

**I know, weird place to leave it…BUT I'm trying to drag it out. ******** There's only one chapter left! Unless of course you all convince me to keep going! Hehe ******


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Booth finally finished clearing the plates after much resistance from Brennan, who had tried to logically explain to him why exactly she should be the one to clean up. But he had managed to keep her away from the kitchen after showing her the book he had just bought, "Protecting Catalhoyuk: Memoir of an Archaeologist Site Guard." She had glued herself to the couch, reading each page with great intensity.

"This civilization is one of the oldest found to date. They started excavation in the 1960s. I have wanted to take a trip out to Anatolia to view the site. Booth, where did you get this book? It's not available for another 2 months," Brennan asked, quite impressed and extremely enthusiastic.

"Oh, I have my connections," Booth said from the kitchen, smiling smugly.

"No, really. Where did you get it?" Brennan insisted.

"Uh-uh. Not telling," Booth replied.

"Booth!" Brennan whined.

Booth joined her on the couch and watched the expression on her face with a smirk. "Bones, you don't have to know everything in life, you know," he told her, pointing a finger at her.

"I just can't wait for this book to come out and YOU of all people have a copy," Brennan said, emphasizing the "you" a little too harshly, her mouth half open.

Booth ignored her and smiled softly, looking into her eyes. A few moments passed in silence before Brennan finally spoke.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, shooting him a classic Brennan look.

"Nothing, Bones. You know what…you can have the book," he replied, still smiling softly.

Brennan's brow wrinkled and her mouth fell half open again. "Booth, no. This is yours," she replied.

"Actually…I got it for you," he replied, holding her gaze.

Brennan's mouth closed and she stared intently at him. "Really? How did you know I wanted it?" she asked him, truly touched that he would be so thoughtful.

"Oh, you mentioned it a few months ago," he replied, nonchalantly. He had, in fact, taken note of the 4 or 5 times she had mentioned the book and had been planning on giving it to her for her birthday. But after Saturday night, he thought that now was the perfect time.

A few more moments passed in silence and a smile crept its way across her face. "Thank you," was all she could say.

"You're welcome," he replied. He waited a few moments before leaning back into the sofa, leaving Brennan sitting up and staring at the book. He watched her as she looked down at the book and then finally turned her body towards him. Her look was steady and lacking a smile or a frown.

"Why did you cook dinner for me tonight, Booth?" she asked him, bluntly.

"What, you didn't like it?" he asked as he placed his hands behind his head, a smug grin glowing across his face.

Brennan rolled her eyes. "It was delicious. I already told you that. Seriously, why did you go to all the trouble?"

"Like I said, I didn't get to cook you breakfast and you cooked me mac-n-cheese. I owed you one," he replied simply. "And it wasn't any trouble."

Brennan's eyes lowered as the memories of Saturday night entered her mind for the thousandth time.

"You don't owe me anything, Booth," Brennan said as her eyes glanced from the book to Booth.

"Well, maybe I did it just because I wanted to," Booth said, smiling softly again at Brennan.

She didn't know how to take that answer. She was so confused. He was being so incredibly thoughtful and yet, she couldn't help but think back to Saturday night. As disappointed as she had been, it was apparent that Booth wanted nothing more than a work partnership. He had even said it…that people in "high risk" situations can't cross that line. If they did, things would probably go downhill and she definitely didn't want that to happen. As long as he was still in her life…

"Bones? Are you okay?" Booth asked after a long while had passed.

Brennan realized that she had tears behind her eyes and she quickly pushed them away, but not before Booth saw them.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied and he knew it.

"No, you're not. Can we stop pretending that the other night didn't happen?" Booth asked in a heightened tone.

"So, that's why you invited me for dinner? So we could revisit the humiliating events that took place?" Brennan replied, icily.

"It's part of the reason. It's killing me that we can't talk about it," Booth revealed.

The tears returned to Brennan's eyes. "Talk about what, Booth? How incredibly drunk and stupid I was? How I fell over my own two feet and screwed up my knee? How I nearly tongue kissed you?! How I completely threw myself at you?!" Brennan asked, rising to her feet and raising her voice, her eyes wide. A single tear spilled out onto her cheek.

"You didn't throw yourself at me. You said it yourself, you had had far too much alcohol and you weren't thinking straight. Bones, look, you know I don't judge you for any of that, okay?" he replied, getting up off of the couch to face her.

"It's not about judgment!" Brennan shouted.

"Then what's it about, Bones?" he asked, his voice rising only slightly.

"It's about you not wanting me!" she blurted out, quickly placing her hand over her mouth as she started to turn away from him. His arm on her shoulder stopped her.

Booth's face fell as she spoke the words. He was in complete shock. He had convinced himself that it had been the alcohol talking and not truly his Bones, even though somewhere, deep down…he knew he was wrong. And this confirmed it. His heart raced over the simple fact that she wanted him…but only for a moment because he still had to fix it.

"Bones, I'm so sorry I said that. I wish I could take it back. I was just trying to protect you," he told her, his voice lowered and his eyes boring into hers so she couldn't look away.

"Protect me?!" Brennan barked.

"Yes, protect you, Bones. Because I didn't want you to be mad at yourself for something you didn't necessarily have control over," he told her, leaning in closer to her face.

"I had all the control!" Brennan shouted, more tears spilling from her cheeks.

"You didn't, Bones. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do, turning you down like that," he told her, his eyes glistening and his mind attempting—and failing—to hold on to the belief that it was all the alcohol. Her eyes searched his for his rationale.

"Oh really? Well, it seemed pretty damn easy!" she bellowed, spit flying from her mouth.

"It wasn't easy! I wanted nothing more than to wrap you in my arms and make love to you!" Booth bellowed back as he shook her slightly by the shoulders. "But I didn't want it to happen like that!"

Her eyes grew even wider as absolute shock smacked her in the face. Silence fell over them like a thundercloud, hovering and threatening to break open at any moment.

Brennan stared into his eyes for another few seconds and suddenly, without another thought, she closed the 4 inch gap between their faces and crashed her lips against his.

Booth was taken aback, but did not resist as he brought his right hand to her left cheek. He was used to his partner's abruptness, but he never expected he would experience any kind of blissful effects from it. But this WAS sheer bliss and he sighed as he slid his fingers beneath her soft brown locks, his tongue parting her lips and caressing hers ever so softly.

For Brennan, nothing in the world felt as good as his lips against hers. All rationale went out the window and for the first time in her entire life, Temperance Brennan let herself go. She released herself to Booth's lips as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her deeply.

They brushed lips over and over until the need for oxygen was too great and Brennan pulled away. Booth's lips didn't seem to get the message and he reached forward for another kiss only to find air. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her. A furrow had crept its way across her brow.

"What's wrong?" he asked, anxiously.

She paused a moment and then, with a look of complete perplexity, she said, "Booth? How DID I get into my light blue nightgown?"

**THE END**

**Well, that's it! Just my take on what COULD happen "after the wedding that wasn't." Sorry I didn't follow up on the Zach thing. I didn't because I wanted to wait and see what the REAL Bones writers do with it. **

**Thanks again for reading!**


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